Display apparatus

ABSTRACT

A display apparatus includes a substrate including a display area and a sensor area, the sensor area including an auxiliary display area and a transmitting area, first display elements arranged over the display area, second display elements arranged over the auxiliary display area, transmitting units arranged in the transmitting area and configured to transmit at least a portion of light incident on the transmitting units, and an optical layer including a mesh pattern covering at least the second display elements.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/094,063 filed on Nov. 10, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/686,800 filed on Nov. 18, 2019, issued as U.S.Pat. No. 10,854,690 on Dec. 1, 2020, which claims priority under 35U.S.C. 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0016841, filed onFeb. 13, 2019, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present inventions relate to a display apparatus, more particularly,a display apparatus with a diffraction grating.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, display apparatuses have been used for various applications.As display apparatuses can be manufactured to be thin and light, usethereof has widened.

While an area of a display apparatus occupied by a display area isincreased, various functions grafted onto or associated with a displayapparatus have been added. To add various functions while increasing anarea of the display area, display apparatuses in which variouscomponents may be arranged over the display area have been studied.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments include a display apparatus in which a sensorarea where a sensor, etc. may be arranged is inside a display area.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a displayapparatus includes a substrate including a display area and a sensorarea, the sensor area including an auxiliary display area and atransmitting area, a plurality of first display elements arranged overthe display area, a plurality of second display elements arranged overthe auxiliary display area, a plurality of transmitting units arrangedin the transmitting area and configured to transmit at least a portionof light incident on the transmitting unit, and an optical layerincluding a mesh pattern covering at least the plurality of seconddisplay elements.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a displayapparatus includes a substrate including a display area and a sensorarea, the sensor area including an auxiliary display area and atransmitting area, a plurality of first display elements arranged overthe display area, a plurality of second display elements arranged overthe auxiliary display area, a plurality of transmitting units arrangedin the transmitting area and configured to transmit at least a portionof light incident on the transmitting unit, and an optical layerincluding a diffraction grating covering at least the plurality ofsecond display elements. The number of the plurality of second displayelements per a unit area is less than the number of the plurality offirst display elements per the unit area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a display apparatus accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A′ of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a display panel according to anembodiment;

FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one pixel included in thedisplay apparatus of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the display apparatus of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6A is a plan view of an example of a sensor area of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 6B is a plan view of another example of the sensor area of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view along line B-B′ of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a display apparatusaccording to another embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a display apparatusaccording to another embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a portion of a display apparatus and an imagedisplayed by the portion, according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view along line C-C′ of FIG. 10 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

As the present description allows for various changes and numerousembodiments, certain embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings anddescribed in detail in the written description. In this regard, thepresent embodiments may have different forms and should not be construedas being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Accordingly, theembodiments are merely described below, by referring to the figures, toexplain aspects of the present description. In the present description,detailed explanations of the related art are omitted when it is deemedthat they obscure the essence of the present description.

While such terms as “first” and “second” may be used to describe variouscomponents, such components must not be limited to the above terms. Theabove terms are used only to distinguish one component from another.

It will be further understood that when a portion such as a layer, afilm, an area, or a plate is referred to as being “on” another portion,it can be directly or indirectly on the other portion. That is, forexample, an intervening layer, film, area, or plate may be present.

In the present description, the x-axis, the y-axis and the z-axis arenot limited to the three axes of the rectangular coordinate system andmay be interpreted in a broader sense. For example, the x-axis, they-axis, and the z-axis may be perpendicular to one another, or mayrepresent different directions that are not perpendicular to oneanother.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout and repeated descriptionsthereof are omitted. Thickness of layers and areas in the drawings areenlarged for clear representation. In addition, thickness of some layersand areas in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience ofexplanation.

The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used herein are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressionssuch as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify theentire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of thelist.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a display apparatus 1according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the display apparatus 1 includes a display area DAwhere an image is displayed, and a non-display area NDA where no imageis displayed. The display apparatus 1 may provide a main image by usinglight emitted from a plurality of main pixels Pm arranged over thedisplay area DA.

The display apparatus 1 includes a sensor area SA. As described belowwith reference to FIG. 2 , the sensor area SA may be an area in which acomponent such as a sensor using infrared light, visible rays, sound, orthe like is disposed. In an example embodiment, a plurality of auxiliarypixels Pa, which will be describe later, may be formed in the sensorarea SA, and the sensor may be disposed under the auxiliary pixels Pa.The sensor area SA includes a transmitting area TA through whichoutputting light and/or sound from the component to the outside orreceiving them from the outside toward the component. According to anembodiment, when infrared light passes through the sensor area SA, lighttransmittance may be about 10% or greater, for example, 20% or greater,25% or greater, 50% or greater, 85% or greater, or 90% or greater.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of auxiliary pixels Pa arearranged over the sensor area SA. A predetermined image may be providedby using light emitted from the plurality of auxiliary pixels Pa. Animage provided from the sensor area SA is an auxiliary image, and mayhave low resolution compared to an image provided from the display areaDA. That is, since the sensor area SA includes the transmitting area TAwhere light and/or sound may pass, the number of the auxiliary pixels Pathat may be arranged per a first unit area may be less than the numberof the main pixels Pm that are arranged per a second unit area. In anexample embodiment, the first unit area and the second unit area may bethe same.

The sensor area SA may be at least partially surrounded by the displayarea DA, and according to an embodiment, FIG. 1 shows the sensor area SAentirely surrounded by the display area DA.

Although an organic light-emitting display apparatus is described belowas an example of the display apparatus 1 according to an embodiment, adisplay apparatus of the present description is not limited thereto.According to another embodiment, various display apparatuses such as aninorganic light-emitting display apparatus, a quantum dot light-emittingdisplay apparatus, or the like may be used.

Although FIG. 1 shows the sensor area SA on a side (right upper side) ofthe display area DA having a rectangular shape, the present descriptionis not limited thereto. The display area DA may be circular, oval, orpolygonal, for example, triangular or pentagonal, and a location of thesensor area SA and the number of sensor areas SA may also be variouslymodified.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the display apparatus 1according to embodiments and corresponds to a cross-section according toline A-A′ of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the display apparatus 1 includes a display panel10 including a display element, and a component 20 disposed in thesensor area SA.

The display panel 10 includes a substrate 100, a display element layer200 on the substrate 100, and a thin film encapsulation layer 300 whichis a sealing member for sealing the display element layer 200. Thedisplay panel 10 may further include a lower protective film 175 underthe substrate 100.

The substrate 100 may include glass or polymer resin. The polymer resinmay include polyethersulfone (PES), polyacrylate, polyetherimide (PEI),polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene terephthalate (PET),polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyarylate (PAR), polyimide (PI),polycarbonate (PC), cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), or the like. Thesubstrate 100 including polymer resin may be flexible, rollable, orbendable. The substrate 100 may have a multilayer structure including alayer including the above-described polymer resin and an inorganic layer(not shown).

The display element layer 200 includes a circuit layer including a mainthin film transistor TFT, an auxiliary thin film transistor TFT′, anorganic light-emitting diode OLED serving as a display element, and aninsulating layer IL therebetween.

Each of the plurality of main pixels Pm including the main thin filmtransistor TFT and the organic light-emitting diode OLED connectedthereto may be in the display area DA, and each of the plurality ofauxiliary pixels Pa including the auxiliary thin film transistor TFT′and the organic light-emitting diode OLED connected thereto, and lines(not shown) may be in the sensor area SA.

The sensing area SA includes the transmitting area TA where theauxiliary thin film transistor TFT′ and the display element are notarranged. The transmitting area TA may be understood as an area throughwhich light/a signal emitted from the component 20 or incident on thecomponent 20 may be transmitted.

The component 20 may be in the sensor area SA. The component 20 may bean electronic element using light or sound. For example, the component20 may be a sensor, such as an infrared sensor, receiving and usinglight, a sensor outputting and sensing light or sound to measure adistance or recognize a fingerprint, a small lamp outputting light, or aspeaker outputting sound. The electronic element using light may uselight of various wavelength bands such as visible light, infrared light,ultraviolet light, etc. The component 20 in the sensor area SA may beplural. For example, a light-emitting device and a light-receivingdevice may be provided together as components 20 in the sensor area SA.Alternatively, a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit may besimultaneously included in one component 20.

In the present embodiment, a first electrode layer BSM is disposed inthe display area DA, and a second electrode layer BSM′ is disposed inthe sensor area SA. The first electrode layer BSM may correspond to themain pixels Pm, and the second electrode layer BSM′ may correspond tothe auxiliary pixels Pa. For example, the first electrode layer BSM isdisposed under each of the main pixels Pm, and the second electrodelayer BSM′ is disposed under each of the auxiliary pixels Pa.

According to an embodiment, the first electrode layer BSM and the secondelectrode layer BSM′ may be arranged between the substrate 100 and abuffer layer or on an intermediate layer of the buffer layer.

The first electrode layer BSM and the second electrode layer BSM′ mayrespectively correspond to the bottom of the main thin film transistorTFT and the bottom of the auxiliary thin film transistor TFT′. Forexample, the first electrode layer BSM and the second electrode layerBSM′ are respectively disposed under the bottom of the main thin filmtransistor TFT and the bottom of the auxiliary thin film transistorTFT′. The first electrode layer BSM may stabilize characteristics of themain thin film transistor TFT included in a corresponding main pixel ofthe main pixels Pm, and the second electrode layer BSM′ may preventexternal light from reaching a corresponding auxiliary pixel of theauxiliary pixels Pa including the auxiliary thin film transistor TFT′.For example, the external light may be light emitted from the component20. In addition, constant voltage or a signal may be applied to thesecond electrode layer BSM′, and thus, damage to a pixel circuit causedby electrostatic discharge may be prevented.

The thin film encapsulation layer 300 may include at least one inorganicencapsulation layer and at least one organic encapsulation layer. Inthis regard, FIG. 2 shows a first inorganic encapsulation layer 310, asecond inorganic encapsulation layer 330 and an organic encapsulationlayer 320 therebetween.

Each of the first inorganic encapsulation layer 310 and the secondinorganic encapsulation layer 330 may include at least one inorganicinsulating material from among aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, tantalumoxide, hafnium oxide, zinc oxide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, andsilicon oxynitride. The organic encapsulation layer 320 may include apolymer-based material. The polymer-based material may include acrylicresin, epoxy-based resin, PI, polyethylene, etc.

The lower protective film 175 is attached to the bottom of the substrate100. The lower protective film 175 may support and protect the substrate100. The lower protective film 175 includes an opening 1750Pcorresponding to the sensor area SA. For example, the sensor area SA maybe defined by the perimeter of the opening 1750P. The opening 1750P maybe included in the lower protective film 175 to increase lighttransmittance of the sensor area SA. The lower protective film 175 mayinclude PET or PI.

An area of the sensor area SA may be greater than an area where thecomponent 20 is provided. Accordingly, an area of the opening 1750Pincluded in the lower protective film 175 may not be the same as thearea of the sensor area SA. For example, the area of the opening 1750Pmay be less than the area of the sensor area SA.

Although not shown, an input sensing member for sensing touch input, areflection preventing member including a polarizer and a retarder or acolor filter and a black matrix, and a component such as a transparentwindow may be further arranged on the display panel 10.

Although, in the present embodiment, the thin film encapsulation layer300 may be used as an encapsulating member for sealing the displayelement layer 200, the present description is not limited thereto. Forexample, a sealing substrate which is bonded to the substrate 100 by asealant or a frit may be used as a member for sealing the displayelement layer 200.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the display panel 10 according to anembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the display area DA of the display panel 10includes the plurality of main pixels Pm. The plurality of main pixelsPm may each include a display element such as an organic light-emittingdiode. Each of the main pixels Pm may emit, for example, red, green,blue, or white light, through the organic light-emitting diode. Asdescribed above, each of the main pixels Pm described herein may beunderstood as a pixel that emits light having one color from among red,green, blue, and white. The display area DA may be covered by anencapsulating member described above with reference to FIG. 2 and beprotected from external air or moisture.

The sensor area SA is at the inside of the display area DA, and theplurality of auxiliary pixels Pa are arranged over the sensor area SA.The plurality of auxiliary pixels Pa may each include a display elementsuch as an organic light-emitting diode. Each of the auxiliary pixels Pamay emit, for example, red, green, blue, or white light, through theorganic light-emitting diode. As described above, each of the auxiliarypixels Pa described herein may be understood as a pixel that emits lighthaving one color from among red, green, blue, and white. The sensor areaSA includes the transmitting area TA that may be disposed between twoadjacent auxiliary pixels of the plurality of auxiliary pixels Pa.

According to an embodiment, each of the main pixels Pm and each of theauxiliary pixels Pa may include the same pixel circuit. However, thepresent description is not limited thereto. A pixel circuit included ineach of the main pixels Pm and a pixel circuit included in each of theauxiliary pixels Pa may be different from each other.

Since the sensor area SA includes the transmitting area TA, resolutionof the sensor area SA may be less than that of the display area DA. Forexample, resolution of the sensor area SA may be about one half of thatof the display area DA. In some embodiments, resolution of the displayarea DA may be 400 pixels per inch (ppi) or greater, and resolution ofthe sensor area SA may be about 200 ppi.

Each of the main pixels Pm and the auxiliary pixels Pa may beelectrically connected to outer circuits arranged over the non-displayarea NDA. A first scan driving circuit 110, a second scan drivingcircuit 120, a terminal 140, a data driving circuit 150, a first powersupply line 160, and a second power supply line 170 may be arranged overthe non-display area NDA.

The first scan driving circuit 110 may provide a scan signal to each ofthe main pixels Pm or each of the auxiliary pixels Pa via a scan lineSL. The first scan driving circuit 110 may provide an emission controlsignal to each of the main pixels Pm or each of the auxiliary pixels Pavia an emission control line EL. The second scan driving circuit 120 maybe parallel to the first scan driving circuit 110 with the display areaDA therebetween. Some of the main pixels Pm and some of the auxiliarypixels Pa arranged over the display area DA may be electricallyconnected to the first scan driving circuit 110, and the others may beconnected to the second scan driving circuit 120. According to anotherembodiment, the second scan driving circuit 120 may be omitted.

The terminal 140 is on a side of the substrate 100. The terminal 140 maybe exposed without being covered by an insulating layer and beelectrically connected to a printed circuit board PCB. A terminal PCB-Pof the printed circuit board PCB may be electrically connected to theterminal 140 of the display panel 10. The printed circuit board PCBtransmits a signal or power of a controller (not shown) to the displaypanel 10. A control signal generated by the controller may betransmitted to each of the first and second scan driving circuits 110and 120 through the printed circuit board PCB. The controller mayrespectively provide first and second power ELVDD and ELVSS (Refer toFIG. 4 described below) to the first and second power supply lines 160and 170 via first and second connecting lines 161 and 171. The firstpower voltage ELVDD (of FIG. 4 ) may be provided to each of the mainpixels Pm and each of the auxiliary pixels Pa via a driving voltage linePL connected to the first power supply line 160, and the second powervoltage ELVSS (of FIG. 4 ) may be provided to an opposite electrode ofeach of the main pixels Pm and each of the auxiliary pixels Pa connectedto the second power supply line 170. The driving voltage line PL isextending in a y-direction.

The data driving circuit 150 is electrically connected to a data lineDL. A data signal of the data driving circuit 150 may be provided toeach of the main pixels Pm and each of the auxiliary pixels Pa via aconnecting line 151 connected to the terminal 140 and the data line DLconnected to the connecting line 151. Although FIG. 3 shows the datadriving circuit 150 on the printed circuit board PCB, the data drivingcircuit 150 may be on the substrate 100 in another embodiment. Forexample, the data driving circuit 150 may be between the terminal 140and the first power supply line 160.

The first power supply line 160 includes a first sub-line 162 and asecond sub-line 163 extending parallel in a x-direction with the displayarea DA therebetween. The x-direction is different from the y-direction.The second power supply line 170 may partially surround the display areaDA in the shape of a loop with one side open.

FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one pixel included in thedisplay apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , each of the main pixels Pm and the auxiliarypixels Pa includes a pixel circuit PC connected to the scan line SL andthe data line DL, and the organic light-emitting diode OLED connected tothe pixel circuit PC.

The pixel circuit PC includes a driving thin film transistor T1, aswitching thin film transistor T2, and a storage capacitor Cst. Theswitching thin film transistor T2 is connected to the scan line SL andthe data line DL and transmits a data signal Dm input via the data lineDL to the driving thin film transistor T1 according to a scan signal Sninput via the scan line SL.

The storage capacitor Cst is connected to the switching thin filmtransistor T2 and the driving voltage line PL and stores a voltagecorresponding to a difference between a voltage transmitted from theswitching thin film transistor T2 and the first power voltage ELVDD (ora driving voltage) supplied to the driving voltage line PL.

The driving thin film transistor T1 is connected to the driving voltageline PL and the storage capacitor Cst and may control a driving currentflowing through the organic light-emitting diode OLED from the drivingvoltage line PL in response to a voltage value stored in the storagecapacitor Cst. The organic light-emitting diode OLED may emit lighthaving predetermined brightness according to the driving current.

Although the pixel circuit PC including two thin film transistors andone storage capacitor has been described with reference to FIG. 4 , thepresent description is not limited thereto. For example, the pixelcircuit PC may include seven thin film transistors and one storagecapacitor.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the display apparatus 1 of FIG. 1. FIG. 6A is a plan view of an example of the sensor area SA of FIG. 5 .FIG. 6B is a plan view of another example of the sensor area SA of FIG.5 .

First, FIG. 5 shows the sensor area SA of the display apparatus 1 (ofFIG. 1 ) according to an embodiment, and the display area DA adjacent tothe sensor area SA.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the plurality of main pixels Pm are arranged overthe display area DA, and a plurality of first display elements arearranged over the display area DA to drive the plurality of main pixelsPm and allow the plurality of main pixels Pm to emit light.

Each of the plurality of first display elements includes the pixelcircuit PC (of FIG. 4 ) corresponding to each of the main pixels Pm, anda display element electrically connected to the pixel circuit PC (ofFIG. 4 ). The pixel circuit PC may include a thin film transistor and astorage capacitor, and the display element may include the organiclight-emitting diode OLED.

The sensor area SA includes an auxiliary display area ADA and thetransmitting area TA.

The plurality of auxiliary pixels Pa are arranged over the auxiliarydisplay area ADA, and a plurality of second display elements arearranged over the auxiliary display area ADA to drive the plurality ofauxiliary pixels Pa and allow the plurality of auxiliary pixels Pa toemit light.

The plurality of second display elements have the same or similarstructure as or to the plurality of first display elements describedabove, and each of the plurality of second display elements includes thepixel circuit PC (of FIG. 4 ) corresponding to each of the auxiliarypixels Pa, and a display element electrically connected to the pixelcircuit PC (of FIG. 4 ). In this regard, the pixel circuit PC mayinclude a thin film transistor and a storage capacitor, and the organiclight-emitting diode OLED may be connected to the pixel circuit PC as adisplay element.

In the auxiliary display area ADA, a pixel unit PU including at leastone of the auxiliary pixels Pa may be defined. The pixel unit PU, whichis a result of grouping adjacent auxiliary pixels Pa, may includeauxiliary pixels that may emit various colors of light. In an exampleembodiment, the auxiliary pixels of the pixel unit PU may emit differentcolors from each other.

According to an embodiment, the pixel unit PU may include at least oneof pixels including a pixel that emits red light, a pixel that emitsgreen light, and a pixel that emits blue light. When the pixel unit PUincludes two or more pixels, the pixel unit PU may include at least twopixels that emit different colors of light from each other.

A transmitting unit TU is in the transmitting area TA. The transmittingunit TU is a unit element that transmits at least a portion of lightincident on the transmitting area TA, and an area of the transmittingarea TA is changed by adjusting the number of transmitting units TU.

According to an embodiment, the transmitting unit TU may include athrough hole, or alternatively, may include an opening having an upperlayer portion removed from a multilayer structure. However, the presentdescription is not limited thereto, and the transmitting unit TU mayrefer to a structure where a display element for emission is notprovided.

An optical layer OL is in the sensor area SA. The optical layer OL islocated over at least the auxiliary display area ADA to cover theplurality of second display elements arranged over the auxiliary displayarea ADA.

According to an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , the optical layer OLmay be located over the auxiliary display area ADA but may not belocated over most of the transmitting area TA. In an example embodiment,the optical layer OL may cover the entire of the auxiliary display areaADA with partial overlap of the transmitting area TA. For example, theoptical layer OL may partially overlap the transmitting area TA along aboundary between the transmitting area TA and the auxiliary display areaADA.

In this case, the optical layer OL may include an opening portion thatexposes at least a portion of the transmitting unit TU. As an example,the optical layer OL may be in the form of a matrix having an openingportion and thus may expose at least a portion of the transmitting unitTU included in the transmitting area TA. However, the presentdescription is not limited thereto, and as another example, the opticallayer OL may be in the form of a pattern corresponding to the auxiliarydisplay area ADA and thus may expose at least a portion of thetransmitting unit TU included in the transmitting area TA.

According to another embodiment, the optical layer OL may be providednot only over the auxiliary display area ADA but over a considerablearea (for example, 50% or greater) of the transmitting area TA.

In this case, the optical layer OL may include a transparent material,and thus, even when the optical layer OL is on the transmitting unit TU,the optical layer OL may maintain a light-transmissive function of thetransmitting unit TU. Accordingly, the optical layer OL may be locatedover substantially the entire surface of the sensor area SA includingthe auxiliary display area ADA and the transmitting area TA.

The optical layer OL may have a mesh pattern M, and the mesh pattern Mmay be formed by forming grooves G extending in at least two directionscrossing each other over a surface of the optical layer OL.

FIG. 5 shows the optical layer OL extending to cover the display areaDA. In an example embodiment, the optical layer OL may cover theplurality of first display elements corresponding to the plurality ofmain pixels Pm, and in this case, the optical layer OL covering thedisplay area DA may not include the mesh pattern M. According to anotherembodiment, the optical layer OL may not be located over the displayarea DA and may be located over the sensor area SA only.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the number of display elements (first displayelements, corresponding to the plurality of main pixels Pm) per unitarea of the display area DA is greater than that of display elements(second display elements, corresponding to the plurality of auxiliarypixels Pa) per unit area of the sensor area SA. Accordingly, whether thenumber of display elements per unit area is large or small may be acriterion of making a distinction between the display area DA and thesensor area SA in the display apparatus 1.

The mesh pattern M of the optical layer OL serves as a diffractiongrating, and display quality that is close to that of the display areaDA may be obtained even in the sensor area SA having fewer displayelements per unit area compared to the display area DA by using afunction of the diffraction grating. A detailed description thereof willbe given below with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 .

Next, FIGS. 6A and 6B show examples of the sensor area SA of FIG. 5 .

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the plurality of auxiliary pixels Painclude a first pixel Par, a second pixel Pag, and a third pixel Pabthat are arranged over the auxiliary display area ADA, and the pixelunit PU may be defined by grouping adjacent pixels from among theplurality of auxiliary pixels including the first pixel Par, the secondpixel Pag, and the third pixel Pab. In FIG. 6A, the pixel unit PUincludes two first pixels, two third pixels and four second pixels, forexample. The pixel unit PU may have the same configuration as anotherpixel unit. In FIG. 6B, the pixel unit PU includes a first pixel unithaving one third pixel and one second pixel, and a second pixel unithaving one first pixel and one second pixel. The first pixel unit andthe second pixel unit have different configurations, but for theconvenience of description, each of the first and second pixel units isreferred to as the pixel unit PU.

In this regard, the pixel unit PU may include at least one of the firstpixel Par that emits red light, the second pixel Pag that emits greenlight, and the third pixel Pab that emits blue light, and as shown inFIG. 5 , colors of light emitted by the auxiliary pixels Par, Pag, andPab constituting the pixel unit PU may be different from each other. Inaddition, the number of auxiliary pixels Par, Pag, and Pab included ineach pixel unit PU may be identical.

According to an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6A, a plurality of pixelunits PU may be adjacently arranged to form one pixel unit group, and aplurality of transmitting units TU may be adjacently arranged to formone transmitting unit group. For example, FIG. 6A shows each pixel unitgroup including four pixel units PU and each transmitting unit groupincluding four transmitting units TU. However, this is merely anexample, and the number of pixel units PU included in a pixel unit groupand the number of transmitting units TU included in a transmitting unitgroup may be variously modified.

In this regard, the pixel unit group and the transmitting unit group maybe alternately arranged. In an example embodiment, a plurality of pixelunit groups may be diagonally arranged in a first direction between thex-direction and the y-direction, and in the same manner, a plurality oftransmitting unit groups may also be diagonally arranged in a seconddirection different from the first direction. Thus, the plurality ofpixel unit groups and the plurality of transmitting unit groups may bearranged in the form of a zigzag along at least one direction (thex-direction or the y-direction).

Although the number of pixel units PU included in the pixel unit groupand the number of transmitting units TU included in the transmittingunit group are the same as each other in FIG. 6A, the presentdescription is not limited thereto. That is, the number of pixel unitsPU included in the pixel unit group and the number of transmitting unitsTU included in the transmitting unit group may be different from eachother.

According to another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6B, the pixel unit PUand the transmitting unit TU may be alternately arranged without beinggrouped. In this case, the plurality of pixel units PU and the pluralityof transmitting units TU may each be diagonally arranged to be arrangedin the form of a zigzag along at least one direction (the x-direction orthe y-direction).

Likewise, the number of groups of the pixel unit PU and the transmittingunit TU may change according to the size of an image to be implementedby the pixel unit PU, visibility of each image, etc. In addition, byadjusting the number of pixel units PU and the number of transmittingunits TU included in the sensor area SA, a relative area of thetransmitting area TA to the auxiliary display area ADA may be adjusted,and thus, an amount of light being transmitted in the sensor area SA maybe adjusted.

Hereinafter, a stack structure of configurations included in displayapparatuses 1A to 1C will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 .

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view according to line B-B′ of FIG. 5 . FIG.8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a display apparatus 1Baccording to another embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of aportion of a display apparatus 1C according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9 , for the simplicity of description, one ofthe main pixels Pm is in the display area DA, and the sensor area SAincludes the auxiliary display area ADA where one of the auxiliary pixelPa is provided, and the transmitting area TA.

The pixel circuit PC (of FIG. 4 ) and the organic light-emitting diodeOLED electrically connected to the pixel circuit PC (of FIG. 4 ) may bearranged in each of the main pixels Pm and each of the auxiliary pixelsPa. Hereinafter, a case where each of the main pixels Pm and theauxiliary pixels Pa includes a driving thin film transistor of the pixelcircuit PC (of FIG. 4 ) will be mainly described for convenience ofdescription.

The main thin film transistor TFT and the storage capacitor Cst on thesubstrate 100 and a pixel electrode 210 electrically connected theretoare provided. The pixel circuit PC is on the substrate 100, and theorganic light-emitting diode OLED is on the pixel circuit PC.

The substrate 100 may include glass or polymer resin. The polymer resinmay include PES, polyacrylate, PEI, PEN, PET, PPS, PAR, PI, PC, CAP, orthe like. The substrate 100 including polymer resin may be flexible,rollable, or bendable. The substrate 100 may have a multilayer structureincluding a layer including the above-described polymer resin and aninorganic layer (not shown).

The buffer layer 111 is on the substrate 100. The buffer layer 111 maydecrease or prevent intrusion of foreign materials, moisture, orexternal air from the bottom of the substrate 100 and may provide aplanarized surface on the substrate 100. The buffer layer 111 mayinclude an inorganic material such as oxide or nitride, an organicmaterial, or an organic-inorganic complex material and may have asingle-layer or multilayer structure including an inorganic material andan organic material. A barrier layer (not shown) may be further includedbetween the substrate 100 and the buffer layer 111. The buffer layer 111includes a first buffer layer 111 a and a second buffer layer 111 bstacked on each other.

A gate electrode GE is on a semiconductor layer Act with a first gateinsulating layer 112 therebetween. The gate electrode GE may includemolybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), etc. and mayhave a single-layer or multilayer structure. As an example, the gateelectrode GE may include a single layer of Mo. Some lines such as thescan line SL (of FIG. 4 ) may be on the same layer as the gate electrodeGE. That is, the gate electrode GE and the scan line SL (of FIG. 4 ) maybe on the first gate insulating layer 112.

The first gate insulating layer 112 may include silicon oxide (SiO₂),silicon nitride (SiN_(x)), silicon oxynitride (SiON), aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃), titanium oxide (TiO₂), tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), hafnium oxide(HfO₂), zinc oxide (ZnO₂), or the like.

A second gate insulating layer 113 may cover the gate electrode GE. Thesecond gate insulating layer 113 may include silicon oxide (SiO₂),silicon nitride (SiN_(x)), silicon oxynitride (SiON), aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃), titanium oxide (TiO₂), tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), hafnium oxide(HfO₂), zinc oxide (ZnO₂), or the like.

A first storage capacitive plate CE1 of the storage capacitor Cst may beintegrally formed with the gate electrode GE of the main thin filmtransistor TFF serving as a driving thin film transistor. For example,the gate electrode GE of the driving thin film transistor may serve asthe first storage capacitive plate CE1 of the storage capacitor Cst.

A second storage capacitive plate CE2 of the storage capacitor Cstoverlaps the first storage capacitive plate CE1 with the second gateinsulating layer 113 therebetween. In this case, the second gateinsulating layer 113 may serve as a dielectric layer of the storagecapacitor Cst. The second storage capacitive plate CE2 may include aconductive material including Mo, Al, Cu, Ti, etc. and may have amultilayer or single-layer structure including the above material. As anexample, the second storage capacitive plate CE2 may be a single layerof Mo or a multilayer of Mo/Al/Mo.

Although FIGS. 7 to 9 show the storage capacitor Cst overlapping thedriving thin film transistor, the present description is not limitedthereto. Various modifications may be made. In an example embodiment,the storage capacitor Cst may be formed without overlapping the drivingthin film transistor.

An interlayer insulating layer 115 may cover the second storagecapacitive plate CE2. The interlayer insulating layer 115 may includesilicon oxide (SiO₂), silicon nitride (SiN_(x)), silicon oxynitride(SiON), aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), titanium oxide (TiO₂), tantalum oxide(Ta₂O₅), hafnium oxide (HfO₂), zinc oxide (ZnO₂), or the like.

A source electrode SE and a drain electrode DE are on the interlayerinsulating layer 115. The source electrode SE and the drain electrode DEmay include a highly conductive material. The source electrode SE andthe drain electrode DE may include a conductive material including Mo,Al, Cu, Ti, etc. and may have a multilayer or single-layer structureincluding the above material. According to an embodiment, the sourceelectrode SE and the drain electrode DE may have a multilayer structureof Ti/Al/Ti.

In addition, the data line DL (of FIG. 4 ) and the driving voltage linePL (of FIG. 4 ) may be on the interlayer insulating layer 115, and inthis regard, the data line DL (of FIG. 4 ) and the driving voltage linePL (of FIG. 4 ) may be on the same layer as the source electrode SE andthe drain electrode DE.

The pixel circuit PC (of FIG. 4 ) including the main thin filmtransistor TFT and the storage capacitor Cst is covered by aplanarization layer 117.

The planarization layer 117 may have a planar upper surface to planarizethe pixel electrode 210. For example, the planarization layer 117 mayprovide a planarized upper surface for a subsequent process such asforming the pixel electrode 210. The planarization layer 117 may have asingle-layer or multilayer structure including a film including anorganic material. The planarization layer 117 may include ageneral-purpose polymer such as benzocyclobutene (BCB), PI,hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), orpolystyrene (PS), a polymer derivative having a phenolic group, anacrylic polymer, an imide-based polymer, an aryl ether-based polymer, anamide-based polymer, a fluorine-based polymer, a p-xylene-based polymer,a vinyl alcohol-based polymer, a blend thereof, etc. In addition, theplanarization layer 117 may include an inorganic material. Theplanarization layer 117 may include silicon oxide (SiO₂), siliconnitride (SiN_(x)), silicon oxynitride (SiON), aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃),titanium oxide (TiO₂), tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), hafnium oxide (HfO₂),zinc oxide (ZnO₂), or the like. When the planarization layer 117includes an inorganic material, chemical planarization polishing may beperformed as necessary. The planarization layer 117 may include both ofan organic material and an inorganic material.

The pixel electrode 210 may be a (semi)transparent electrode or areflective electrode. In some embodiments, the pixel electrode 210 mayinclude a reflective film including silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), Al,platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), neodymium (Nd),iridium (Ir), chromium (Cr), or a compound thereof, and a transparent orsemitransparent electrode layer on the reflective film. The transparentor semitransparent electrode layer may include at least one selectedfrom the group including indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide(IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In₂O₃), indium gallium oxide(IGO), and aluminum zinc oxide (AZO). In some embodiments, the pixelelectrode 210 may have a stack structure of ITO/Ag/ITO.

A pixel-defining film 119 is disposed on the planarization layer 117with an opening portion 119OP1 that exposes a central portion of thepixel electrode 210 to define an emission area of a pixel. In addition,the pixel-defining film 119 may prevent occurrence of an arc over anedge of the pixel electrode 210 by increasing a distance between theedge of the pixel electrode 210 and an opposite electrode 230 on thepixel electrode 210. The pixel-defining film 119 may be formed by usinga method such as spin coating, with an organic insulating material suchas PI, polyamide, acrylic resin, BCB, HMDSO, and phenolic resin.

An intermediate layer 220 of the organic light-emitting diode OLED mayinclude an organic emission layer. The organic emission layer mayinclude an organic material including a fluorescent or phosphorescentmaterial emitting red, green, blue, or white light. The organic emissionlayer may include a low-molecular organic material or a polymer organicmaterial, and functional layers such as a hole transport layer (HTL), ahole injection layer (HIL), an electron transport layer (ETL), and anelectron injection layer (EIL) may be selectively further arranged underand on the organic emission layer. The intermediate layer 220 isdisposed on the pixel electrode 210. In an example embodiment, theintermediate layer 220 may be integrally formed and thus an intermediatelayer disposed on a pixel electrode may be connected to anotherintermediate layer disposed on another pixel electrode adjacent to thepixel electrode. However, the present description is not limitedthereto. Various modifications may be made. For example, theintermediate layer 220 may be separately formed so that an intermediatelayer disposed on a pixel electrode may be spaced apart from, withoutbeing connected to, another intermediate layer disposed on another pixelelectrode adjacent to the pixel electrode.

The opposite electrode 230 may be a transparent electrode or areflective electrode. In some embodiments, the opposite electrode 230may be a transparent or semitransparent electrode and may include ametal thin film having low work function including lithium (Li), calcium(Ca), lithium fluoride/calcium (LiF/Ca), lithium fluoride/aluminum(LiF/AI), Al, Ag, Mg, or a compound thereof. In addition, a transparentconductive oxide (TCO) film such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, or In₂O₃ may befurther located on the metal thin film. The opposite electrode 230 maybe located over the display area DA and the sensor area SA, and may beon the intermediate layer 220 and the pixel-defining film 119. Theopposite electrode 230 may be integrally formed with respect to theorganic light-emitting diode OLED and thus may correspond to the pixelelectrode 210. For example, an opposite electrode on an organiclight-emitting diode may be connected to another opposite electrode onanother organic light-emitting diode adjacent to the organiclight-emitting diode.

When the pixel electrode 210 is a reflective electrode, and the oppositeelectrode 230 is a transparent electrode, light emitted from theintermediate layer 220 may be emitted toward the opposite electrode 230.In this case, a display apparatus may be referred to as atop-emission-type display apparatus. When the pixel electrode 210 is atransparent or semitransparent electrode, and the opposite electrode 230is a reflective electrode, light emitted from the intermediate layer 220may be emitted toward the substrate 100. In this case, the displayapparatus may be referred to as a bottom-emission-type displayapparatus. However, the present embodiment is not limited thereto. Thedisplay apparatus according to the present embodiment may be adual-emission-type display apparatus which emits light in both of thetop and bottom directions.

A capping layer 240 is disposed on the opposite electrode 230. Forexample, the capping layer 240 may include LiF and may be formed bythermal deposition. Alternatively, the capping layer 240 may include aninorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, orsilicon oxynitride. Alternatively, the capping layer 240 may be omitted.

The first electrode layer BSM is disposed below the main pixels Pm. Thefirst electrode layer BSM is disposed between the first buffer layer 111a and the second buffer layer 111 b. The first electrode layer BSM mayinclude a conductive material including Mo, Al, Cu, Ti, etc. and mayhave a single-layer or multilayer structure.

The first electrode layer BSM may be connected to the gate electrode GEof a corresponding main pixel of the main pixels Pm and thus may serveas one of double gate electrodes. However, the present description isnot limited thereto. According to another embodiment, the firstelectrode layer BSM may be connected to a line for receiving constantvoltage, for example, the driving voltage line PL of FIG. 4 . Accordingto another embodiment, the first electrode layer BSM may be integrallyformed so that a first electrode layer below a main pixel electrode maybe connected to another first electrode layer below another main pixelor to another first electrode layer below an auxiliary pixel electrode.

The first electrode layer BSM may serve to stabilize characteristics ofa thin film transistor included in each of the main pixels Pm.

In an example embodiment, the first electrode layer BSM may notcorrespond to the entire of the main pixels Pm and may correspond to thebottom of a certain thin film transistor.

In addition, the second electrode layer BSM′ may be below the auxiliarypixel Pa. Like the first electrode layer BSM, the second electrode layerBSM′ may be between the first buffer layer 111 a and the second bufferlayer 111 b, may include a conductive material including Mo, Al, Cu, Ti,etc., and may have a single-layer or multilayer structure.

The second electrode layer BSM′ may be connected to the driving voltageline PL, as shown in FIG. 4 , via a contact hole. The driving voltageline PL is disposed on the interlayer insulating layer 115, and thecontact hole penetrates through the interlayer insulating layer 115, thesecond gate insulating layer 113, the first gate insulating layer 112,and the second buffer layer 111 b. However, the present description isnot limited thereto, and according to another embodiment, the secondelectrode layer BSM′ may be connected to the scan line SL (of FIG. 4 )via a contact hole. As described above, as the second electrode layerBSM′ is provided for the auxiliary pixels Pa, the main thin filmtransistor TFT of each of the auxiliary pixels Pa may be protected fromexternal light or constant voltage.

The planarization layer 117 may include a first transmitting opening1170P corresponding to the transmitting area TA, and the pixel-definingfilm 119 may include a second transmitting opening 119OP2. In thisregard, the first transmitting opening 1170P and the second transmittingopening 119OP2 may constitute the transmitting unit TU described abovewith reference to FIG. 5 , etc.

Accordingly, the first buffer layer 111 a, the second buffer layer 111b, the first gate insulating layer 112, the second gate insulating layer113, the interlayer insulating layer 115, and the opposite electrode 230may be stacked in the transmitting area TA. In an example embodiment, anorganic material layer of the intermediate layer 220 over the entiresurface of the substrate 100, for example, an HTL, an HIL, an ETL, anEIL, etc., may be further located between the interlayer insulatinglayer 115 and the opposite electrode 230 in the transmitting area TA.

In some embodiments, the opposite electrode 230 may be removed in thetransmitting area TA. According to another embodiment, inorganicinsulating layers, that is, the first buffer layer 111 a, the secondbuffer layer 111 b, the first gate insulating layer 112, the second gateinsulating layer 113, and the interlayer insulating layer 115, may allbe removed in the transmitting area TA. In this case, removal of theinorganic insulating layers may be performed by the same etching processwhen the contact hole for connecting the second electrode layer BSM′ tothe driving voltage line PL is formed.

In the display apparatus 1A shown in FIG. 7 , an encapsulation substrate101 facing the substrate 100 may be on the capping layer 240. Thus, theencapsulation substrate 101 may cover a plurality of first displayelements arranged over the display area DA and a plurality of seconddisplay elements arranged over the auxiliary display area ADA.

The encapsulation substrate 101 may be substantially parallel to thesubstrate 100 and be attached to the substrate 100 by a sealing member(not shown) between the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate101.

The encapsulation substrate 101 may include glass or polymer resin. Thepolymer resin may include PES, polyacrylate, PEI, PEN, PET, PPS, PAR,PI, PC, CAP, or the like. The encapsulation substrate 101 includingpolymer resin may be flexible, rollable, or bendable. The encapsulationsubstrate 101 may have a multilayer structure including a layerincluding the above-described polymer resin and an inorganic layer (notshown) and may include the same material as that of the substrate 100.

The encapsulation substrate 101 may have a first side X1 facing thesubstrate 100 and a second side X2 opposite the first side X1. Thesecond side X2 of the encapsulation substrate 101 includes the grooves Gdescribed with reference to FIG. 5 .

The grooves G may extend in at least two directions crossing each otherand thus constitute the mesh pattern M (of FIG. 5 ). That is, in thepresent embodiment, the encapsulation substrate 101 itself may serve asthe optical layer OL described above with reference to FIG. 5 .

In the display apparatus 1B shown in FIG. 8 , the encapsulationsubstrate 101 facing the substrate 100 may be on the capping layer 240.An insulating layer 102 is disposed on the encapsulation substrate 101.Except that, structures of the main thin film transistor TFT and theorganic light-emitting diode OLED and a location, a material, etc. ofthe encapsulation substrate 101 are the same as or similar to those ofthe embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 7 .

The grooves G as discussed with reference to FIG. 5 are formed on asurface of the insulating layer 102. The grooves G may extend in atleast two directions crossing each other and thus constitute the meshpattern M (of FIG. 5 ), and accordingly, unlike that shown in FIG. 7 ,the insulating layer 102 on the encapsulation substrate 101 may serve asthe optical layer OL described above with reference to FIG. 5 .

According to an embodiment, the insulating layer 102 may include atleast one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon oxynitride.

In the display apparatus 1C shown in FIG. 9 , instead of theencapsulation substrate 101 (of FIGS. 7 and 8 ) described above, thethin film encapsulation layer 300, as described with reference to FIG. 2, may be on the capping layer 240. Like the encapsulation substrate 101(of FIGS. 7 and 8 ) described above, the thin film encapsulation layer300 may cover a plurality of first display elements arranged over thedisplay area DA and a plurality of second display elements arranged overthe auxiliary display area ADA.

The thin film encapsulation layer 300 may include at least one organicencapsulation layer and at least one inorganic encapsulation layer.

According to an embodiment, FIG. 9 shows the thin film encapsulationlayer 300 including the first inorganic encapsulation layer 310, thesecond inorganic encapsulation layer 330 and the organic encapsulationlayer 320 therebetween. According to another embodiment, the number oforganic encapsulation layers and the number and stacking order ofinorganic encapsulation layers may be changed.

The first inorganic encapsulation layer 310 may be conformally formed onthe capping layer 240 of which an upper surface is not planarized. Theorganic encapsulation layer 320 covers the first inorganic encapsulationlayer 310, providing a planarized surface for the second inorganicencapsulation layer 330. In an example embodiment, the organicencapsulation layer 320 may have a substantially planar upper surface onthe display area DA and the auxiliary display area ADA.

The organic encapsulation layer 320 may include PET, PEN, PC, PI,polyethylene sulfonate, polyoxymethylene, PAR, HMDSO, acrylic resin (forexample, PMMA, poly(acrylic acid), etc.), or any combination thereof.

The second inorganic encapsulation layer 330 covers the organicencapsulation layer 320. In an example embodiment, the second inorganicencapsulation layer 330 may include silicon oxide, silicon nitride,silicon oxynitride or a combination thereof. The second inorganicencapsulation layer 330 may directly contact the first inorganicencapsulation layer 310 on an edge area of the display apparatus 1 (ofFIG. 1 ) and thus may prevent the organic encapsulation layer 320 frombeing exposed to the outside of the display apparatus 1 (of FIG. 1 ).

In this regard, the grooves G, described with reference to FIG. 5 , maybe formed on a surface of the second inorganic encapsulation layer 330located on top of the thin film encapsulation layer 300. The grooves Gmay extend in at least two directions crossing each other and thusconstitute the mesh pattern M (of FIG. 5 ), and accordingly, the secondinorganic encapsulation layer 330 of the thin film encapsulation layer300 may serve as the optical layer OL described above with reference toFIG. 5 .

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an image displayed by a portion of a displayapparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional viewaccording to line C-C′ of FIG. 10 .

As shown in a first operation S1 of FIG. 10 , the optical layer OL is inthe sensor area SA, and is located over at least the auxiliary displayarea ADA to overlap a plurality of second display elements arranged overthe auxiliary display area ADA.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the optical layer OL may be located over theauxiliary display area ADA but may not be located over most of thetransmitting area TA, the optical layer OL may extend to thetransmitting area TA as well as the auxiliary display area ADA.

In this regard, the optical layer OL may include the mesh pattern Mserving as a diffraction grating, and the mesh pattern M may be obtainedby processing the grooves G on an upper surface of the optical layer OLas shown in FIG. 11 . The optical layer OL may be one of theencapsulation substrate 101 shown in FIG. 7 , the insulating layer 102on the encapsulation substrate 101 shown in FIG. 8 , and the secondinorganic encapsulation layer 330 of the thin film encapsulation layer300 shown in FIG. 9 , and FIG. 11 shows a case where the optical layerOL is the encapsulation substrate 101.

As shown in FIG. 11 , red light L1 emitted from the first pixel Par isdivided into a plurality of beams by the grooves G of the optical layerOL serving as a diffraction grating and thus implements a plurality ofred images.

For example, at least one second red image lar′ that is the same as afirst red image lar corresponding to a pixel area APA where the firstpixel Par is located may be implemented over a non-pixel area NPA, whichis a peripheral area of the pixel area APA of the first pixel Par. Thus,a second red image lar′ obtained by reproducing the first red image larmay be adjacent to the first red image lar.

Likewise, green light L2 emitted from the second pixel Pag is dividedinto a plurality of beams by reaching the groove G of the optical layerOL serving as a diffraction grating and thus implements a plurality ofgreen images.

To be more concrete, at least one second green image lag′ that is thesame as a first green image lag corresponding to the pixel area APAwhere the second pixel Pag is located may be implemented over thenon-pixel area NPA, which is a peripheral area of the pixel area APA ofthe second pixel Pag. Thus, a second green image lag′ obtained byreproducing the first green image lag may be adjacent to the first greenimage lag.

A yellow image lay, which is a mixed color of red and green, may beimplemented over the non-pixel area NPA where a red image lar, which isa reproduced image of the first pixel Par, and a second green imagelag′, which is a reproduced image of the second pixel Pag, overlap eachother.

Accordingly, as shown in a second operation S2 of FIG. 10 , a red imageIr may be implemented so as to correspond to not only the first pixelPar but also a peripheral area of the first pixel Par, a green image Igmay be implemented so as to correspond to not only the second pixel Pagbut also a peripheral area of the second pixel Pag, and a blue image 1 bmay be implemented so as to correspond to not only the third pixel Pabbut also a peripheral area of the third pixel Pab. That is, an image ofa color of the sensor area SA may be larger than that of the color ofthe display area DA (of FIG. 5 ), and thus, display quality of thesensor area SA may be prevented from being significantly degradedcompared to display quality of the display area DA (of FIG. 5 ).

As described above, according to one or more embodiments, a displayapparatus may include an optical layer in an auxiliary display areawhere the number of display elements per unit area is relatively smallcompared to a display area, the optical layer including a mesh patternserving as a diffraction grating, and thus, even in the auxiliarydisplay area, display quality such as resolution, visibility, etc. maybe as good as that of the display area.

According to one or more embodiments, overall display quality may beimproved by improving resolution, visibility, etc.

It should be understood that embodiments described herein should beconsidered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodimentshould typically be considered as available for other similar featuresor aspects in other embodiments.

While one or more embodiments have been described with reference to thefigures, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat various changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display apparatus comprising: a substrateincluding a display area and a sensor area, the sensor area including anauxiliary display area and a transmitting area; a plurality of firstdisplay elements arranged over the display area; a plurality of seconddisplay elements arranged over the auxiliary display area; a pluralityof transmitting units arranged in the transmitting area and configuredto transmit at least a portion of light incident on the transmittingarea; and an encapsulation substrate covering the plurality of firstdisplay elements and the plurality of second display elements and theencapsulation substrate includes a plurality of grooves overlapping withthe plurality of second display elements, wherein a number of theplurality of grooves overlapping with a light emitting region of one ofthe plurality of second display elements is at least two.
 2. The displayapparatus of claim 1, wherein the encapsulation substrate comprises afirst surface facing the substrate and a second surface opposite thefirst surface, and the plurality of grooves is disposed on the secondsurface.
 3. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofgrooves is not overlapped with the plurality of first display elements.4. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of groovesinclude a first group of grooves extending in a first direction and asecond group of grooves extending in a second direction different fromthe first direction.
 5. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein theplurality of grooves are arranged in a mesh pattern.
 6. The displayapparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of second display elementsare grouped into a plurality of pixel units, and wherein each of theplurality of pixel units and each of the plurality of transmitting unitsare alternately arranged.
 7. The display apparatus of claim 1, whereineach of the plurality of first display elements and the plurality ofsecond display elements comprises: a pixel electrode electricallyconnected to a thin film transistor; an emission layer on the pixelelectrode; and an opposite electrode on the emission layer.
 8. A displayapparatus comprising: a substrate including a display area and a sensorarea, the sensor area including an auxiliary display area and atransmitting area; a plurality of first display elements arranged overthe display area; a plurality of second display elements arranged overthe auxiliary display area; a plurality of transmitting units arrangedin the transmitting area and configured to transmit at least a portionof light incident on the transmitting area; and a thin filmencapsulation layer covering the plurality of first display elements andthe plurality of second display elements, wherein the thin filmencapsulation layer includes a first inorganic layer, an organic layer,and a second inorganic layer, which are sequentially stacked, andwherein the second inorganic layer includes a plurality of groovesoverlapping with the plurality of second display elements, wherein anumber of the plurality of grooves overlapping with a light emittingregion of one of the plurality of second display elements is at leasttwo.
 9. The display apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofgrooves is disposed on an upper surface of the second inorganic layer.10. The display apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of groovesis not overlapped with the plurality of first display elements.
 11. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of grooves include afirst group of grooves extending in a first direction and a second groupof grooves extending in a second direction different from the firstdirection.
 12. The display apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pluralityof grooves are arranged in a mesh pattern.
 13. The display apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the plurality of second display elements are groupedinto a plurality of pixel units, and wherein each of the plurality ofpixel units and each of the plurality of transmitting units arealternately arranged.
 14. The display apparatus of claim 8, wherein eachof the plurality of first display elements and the plurality of seconddisplay elements comprises: a pixel electrode electrically connected toa thin film transistor; an emission layer on the pixel electrode; and anopposite electrode on the emission layer.
 15. The display apparatus ofclaim 8, further comprising: a thin film transistor disposed between thesubstrate and the plurality of second display elements; and aplanarization layer covering the thin film transistor, wherein theplanarization layer include a transmitting opening corresponding to thetransmitting area.